I know that this is probably the first thread of its kind- complaining about inconsiderate, ignorant neighbours who have no consideration for other people. 

 

I was brushcutting my land this morning and suddenly smelt a weird  and unique smell. Looked up and 5m away was my lovely neighbour who was doing his

quarterly spraying of his 5 durian trees and all other trees using his big diesel generator. 

 

I couldnt believe how inconsiderate this guy was. The neighbour to one side has been taking videos of the guy 3 to 4 months ago and calling someone but

obviously this had no effect. 

 

I decided to stop work and got in the car and went to a coffee shop for 1 hour. Actually we want to buy his land one day and thus Ive always been friendly

and normal. I drove back to our land and went over to the fence and had a friendly chat. I asked him to add line and that my wife might call tonight. All

smiles and normal

 

My wife used nice tone and asked him if he wanted to sell. 'No not yet' he said. She said regarding the pesticide would he mind not doing it if he sees any

of us at our land. He went quiet for a few seconds and said 'How about if I call you the next time I do it'.  So it was a good outcome and no drama. I think its 

best not to fall out with ones neighbour if possible. Still disappointed that this thai man doesnt understand the concept of 'grenge jai'

Sounds like he’s reasonable, be happy.

Another reason never to buy in Thailand.

Does anyone know if its actually illegal to spray chemicals like this in a residential village area. 

No ,its not the first thread on complaining about inconsiderate ignorant neighbors in Thailand.

1 minute ago, riclag said:

No ,its not the first thread on complaining about inconsiderate ignorant neighbors in Thailand.

 

first this week. 

38 minutes ago, advancebooking said:

Does anyone know if its actually illegal to spray chemicals like this in a residential village area. 

             That's not quite how things work in Thailand.    Unlike  in the west, the legality of something like this is nothing to do with what's written in a statute book .     In Thailand, the legality of such actions is a very  subjective concept,    it is totally dependant on the status of who is causing the disturbance and the status of  who is complaining, and any relationship either party may have with the police, should things descend to that level,

As the guy only does his spraying every 3 months and has now agreed to pre warn you  I personally don't see your problem.

 

"Graeng Jai" is also based on status, As a foreigner your place in the pecking order has been pre established for you, so if you are expecting any of that to come your way automatically you will be disappointed.   Best not to rock the boat, or get involved, leave it to the Mrs

              

8 hours ago, advancebooking said:

Does anyone know if its actually illegal to spray chemicals like this in a residential village area. 

What are the chemicals ?

I think you and your wife handled the situation admirably well. It took me well over a decade of trial and error to realize that the non-confrontational conversational approach generally works best in resolving disputes with neighbors.

 

It's hard to picture what he has rigged up to spray his orchard, but it sounds like it's pretty high pressured and may be resulting in over spray. If the odor is especially strong, I would try to find out what he's spraying and talk to him about making sure he isn't using an excessive concentration of the chemical. The other thing that might be worth looking into is using a drone to spray. I doubt there are any laws about spraying in a residential area, but if he is using a jerry-rigged spraying device that results in excessive airborne pesticide, you might be able to get help from puu yai or local officials to get him to change his application equipment. 

 

6 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I think you and your wife handled the situation admirably well. It took me well over a decade of trial and error to realize that the non-confrontational conversational approach generally works best in resolving disputes with neighbors.

 

It's hard to picture what he has rigged up to spray his orchard, but it sounds like it's pretty high pressured and may be resulting in over spray. If the odor is especially strong, I would try to find out what he's spraying and talk to him about making sure he isn't using an excessive concentration of the chemical. The other thing that might be worth looking into is using a drone to spray. I doubt there are any laws about spraying in a residential area, but if he is using a jerry-rigged spraying device that results in excessive airborne pesticide, you might be able to get help from puu yai or local officials to get him to change his application equipment. 

 

Its really high powered. He was standing there yesterday inside his land with his motorcycle helmet on and spraying upwards. It was drifting everywhere outside his land towards me. 

 

Its a tricky situation bc the house we propose to build is so close to his area. 

 

Actually I feel he is trying to force our hand and pay big money for his land. He is already asking 3 times its worth. They are quite weird and the other end of the scale compared to educated thais that Ive met.  I just have to keep being friendly and dont think too much. 

4 minutes ago, advancebooking said:

I just have to keep being friendly and dont think too much. 

An excellent response sir.

1 hour ago, advancebooking said:

Its really high powered. He was standing there yesterday inside his land with his motorcycle helmet on and spraying upwards. It was drifting everywhere outside his land towards me. 

 

Its a tricky situation bc the house we propose to build is so close to his area. 

 

Actually I feel he is trying to force our hand and pay big money for his land. He is already asking 3 times its worth. They are quite weird and the other end of the scale compared to educated thais that Ive met.  I just have to keep being friendly and dont think too much. 

 

I think I know the apparatus he's using, even though I've never looked at one up close. Farmers usually use it to spray pesticides and it shoots a stream about eight meters. It's usually mounted on some type of trap wagon and another guy manages the long hose and sprays the crop. It's much more efficient than using a backpack sprayer, but from what I've seen, the guy doing the application is getting a very high exposure to pesticides in the process, especially if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. I've never seen that apparatus used to spray trees, especially in a residential area. Because he's spraying vertically rather than horizontally, I imagine the possibility of overspray is quite high, again, especially if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. A mist of pesticide over your car, outdoor furniture, swimming pool, vegetable garden, etc. isn't exactly healthy, especially if there are children in the household. I don't know what to tell you. Pesticide applications kind of come with the territory in rural Thailand, but due to the proximity to your house, that guy needs to be actively exploring ways to minimize overspray and annoyance of his neighbors. Reducing the concentration of application, reducing the pressure of the spray stream, reducing the atomization of the application, paying careful attention to wind direction, or giving advanced notice (not just 10 minutes beforehand) are possible ways to reduce your exposure.

17 hours ago, advancebooking said:

 

I was brushcutting my land

 

U Thai?

17 hours ago, riclag said:

No ,its not the first thread on complaining about inconsiderate ignorant neighbors in Thailand.

Seems that this neighbour is neither inconsiderate nor ignorant.

44 minutes ago, Celsius said:

18 hours ago, advancebooking said:

 

I was brushcutting my land

 

U Thai?

 

Gawd...obviously, he isn't.